Emory or Rice?? I cant decide im going crazy!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Emory University
1

<p>I know its a good choice to make but its an extremly hard on too. Emory in Atlanta or Rice in Houston. Rice is ranked better in US news but only by 1 or 2 schools and student body is a lot smaller. Emory is also a top 20 school, almost twice as big, and teh campus is also great. I want to major in Polic Sci and then go to Law School. I have to make a decison in a week and i dont know what to do!!!!!! Money isnt a factor in the decision but prestige and academics are. </p>

<p>Please help!!!!!!! any comments or thoughts would be great help.</p>

2

<p>I think everyone at the Rice board will say Rice. As far as national prestige, Emory is really still up-and-coming, and I think it has a lot more potential than Rice. With that said, Rice will be more prestigious than Emory in the southwest, midwest, and west. I think Emory is more prestigious in the southeast, mid-atlantic (maybe), and the northeast. You really can't go wrong assuming both schools can offer you the courses and atmosphere you want.</p>

3

<p>My grandfather went to Emory for grad polisci or something, he really loved it. Personally I'd say Rice but that's just because I have a personal bias for Rice.. hahah. If you've visited both, choose the one you felt fit you the most. I don't think it'll make that much of a difference since they're both so close. Although Rice is a lot smaller so if you prefer that type of environment go Rice.</p>

4

<p>i say emory because i like atlanta
both of em are amazing schools but i also agree that emory has more potential that rice does</p>

5

<p>I'd say Rice becasue it had been my dream school after i visited but ended up not applying since Rice did not have a program that I wanted to study. (so.. yeah it's just a personal thing) Moreover, Rice is cheaper than Emory.</p>

6

<p>It seems to me that Rice is more geared towards the sciences and i want to study PoliSci and then go to Law school. I like things from both campuses and both cities, so its really about the academics and the chances i will have for grad school. Im also confused about the size, is smaller better or worse???</p>

7

<p>Ohh and MetheMan wat did u want to major in?</p>

8

<p>Rice, no contest.</p>

<p>First of all, it's a way better school. Some statistics:
US News ranking (somewhat biased, though)
Rice: 17
Emory: 20</p>

<p>Acceptance rate:
Rice: 24%
Emory: 42% (!)</p>

<p>SATs:
Rice: 1320-1520
Emory: 42%</p>

<p>Another ranking, besides U.S. News, that you might find interesting, is the Laissez Faire ranking, which ranks primarily based on selectivity. You can read up on its theory, which I personally agree with, and you might too. I'd say it's more reliable, as it doesn't change drastically every year, like US News: <a href="http://collegeadmissions.tripod.com/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://collegeadmissions.tripod.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>According to it, Rice is 13, beside Duke and Penn. Emory is 33rd, clumped with Barnard, Davidson, and Vassar. Rice shares applicants most often with Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, and Duke. Emory shares applicants with Duke, Vanderbilt, WashU, UNC-CH, and Penn. Emory has a 28% yield, Rice's is 42%.</p>

<p>Another thing about Rice, for grad school, especially law school, I'd say it's a better choice, in fact, BECAUSE it's an engineering school. Usually, at science schools, GPAs are lower because there's much more work for engineering majors. But going in as a poli sci major, you'll be able to work just as hard as a science major, except you'll be receiving better grades, which means a better class rank, and ultimately, a better law school. Also, based on a salary report issues May 2004, political science majors at Rice have an average accepted salary of $45,640, with a $2,500 bonus (salaries ranging from 25,000 to 65,000), so being an engineering school definitely doesn't hurt social sciences majors. I don't have Emory statistics, but if you can find them, great, I only have the ones for Rice because I was considering it, and honestly, I didn't even apply to Emory, so I don't have data on them.</p>

9

<p>Another thing is location. Law schools often consider geographic diversity, simply because they can't accept everyone from schools in the northeast. And while Emory is still along the east coast, right by other good schools like Duke and Georgetown, Rice is out in the middle of nowhere, and I can't really think of a single good school that's located anywhere near it (excluding California schools, which are still pretty far away, anyway). So that's another factor.</p>

<p>And I definitely wouldn't say Emory has more potential. Rice just got a new president, Leebron, who is looking to make tremendous changes to increase recognition outside of Texas. Rice is still a young school, built around 1900, and about 60 years younger than Emory, with a great amount of potential to become a nationally recognized school.</p>

<p>And the size of a school may not necessarily be that important. For some, a larger school might be better in terms of research opportunities, but at Rice, that doesn't really have any major effect, since you're a poli sci major. One thing that a small school is good for, though, is leadership. It's a lot easier to get more responsibility and higher leadership positions in a smaller school, because it's much more personalized, and it's just easier to get to know more people. That might be an important factor for law school. Also, keep in mind that Rice isn't exactly suffocatingly small. There are 700 students per class, but that comes out to a total of around 3000 students. And all that really means is that you'll get to know more people outside of your class. It also means smaller classes, so it's easier to get to know your professors (recommendations, etc.). I also hear they're amazing at matching roommates, there's supposed to be a really long survey you fill out after you find what college you're placed in. So that's another benefit of a small school.</p>

10

<p>Socially, Rice is also great because there are tons of parties, many of which are unique to Rice. With its residential college system, each college holds a giant party every year for all the students, which has a theme, so everyone dresses up. There's Night of Decadence (NOD), where everyone dresses up in really slutty costumes, Bacchanalia (a toga party), Beer Bike, and a ton of other traditions that make Rice a really fun place to be. I can't really name a single school that has this many traditions. Even Yale, which is the only other US school with the college system, doesn't have anywhere near as many traditions and parties as Rice.</p>

<p>So basically, pick Rice. It's way better.</p>

11

<p>42% acceptance rate? are you kidding me, this year it was 31 and last year was somewhere between 36-7</p>

12

<p>I read up on some statistics that say that only 3% of students from Rice go onto Law school while 17% of students from Emory go onto Law school. Does that mean that its more competition at Emory, or more acceptances? Do you think it would be easier to get better grades at Emory and thus a better GPA. BC i hear law school dont really care avout the school so much but more about the GPA and LSAT.</p>

13

<p>Jean Pierre, I'm not sure you are going about this the right way. Name isn't everything. Stats aren't everything. Both Rice and Emory are good schools; what you do in college will count much more than the name recognition of the university. Trust me - names mean much more to the high schoolers here than they do to adults.</p>

<p>You want to be happy at your undergraduate college so that you can thrive. Emory is your school. Wanna know how I know? After tons of people said "Rice," you defended Emory. That tells me that it is where you really want to go.</p>

14

<p>I guess i am leaning towards Emory, but im scared to make teh wrong decision. Really both places woudl be great, its a matter of where i think i will do better, and thats something very hard to predict.</p>

15

<p>There's no way you can know in advance which school will be better for you. All you have is instinct, and that's what you'll have to rely on.</p>

16

<p>"42% acceptance rate? are you kidding me, this year it was 31 and last year was somewhere between 36-7"</p>

<p>Yeah, sorry, those statistics were from 2004, the Rankings that I have. Either way, 30% is still really high. I'm pretty sure Rice's rankings have dropped too. But Rice's acceptance rates are weird... it's like 17% instate, but around 40% out of state right now, because Leebron's trying to recruit a lot more from out-of-state right now.</p>

<p>Jean Pierre, I think with the law school thing, your GPA will be pretty similar at both places. But law schools definitely take the name of the school into consideration, and Rice is better overall.</p>

<p>But I didn't know about those percentages for law schools, so I'm not too sure about that. It could really run both ways with the competition. The only way to check that would be to find out which law schools students from both schools went to (how many people went to Harvard, Georgetown, etc.)</p>

17

<p>Where could i find those numbers?</p>

18

<p>My daughter (from so. cal) is a freshman at Emory and my niece (from Tx) is a freshman at Rice. Both of them are very happy. But they've noticed differences. Emory seems to have more students from all over the country; many Rice kids are from Texas. Rice is very strong in engineering; Emory is very strong in health sciences. Emory has sororities/frat; Rice has the resident. college system. Sports are more significant at Rice. Rice is cheaper.
I'm a college professor myself and when I looked at the course listings, Emory has many more courses/professors/specialization areas. This goes with being a larger university. Both schools are wealthy and have resources to hire strong professors and support research. That should matter to you because it encourages good teaching.
I know a little more about Emory since my daughter is there. I understand that Emory's applications went up 18% this year - a large increase. I think both my niece and daughter would choose their respective school again.</p>

19

<p>Thats one of teh main thinsg that has me leaning towards Emory. I dont want to be in a small school with a majority of kids from Texas. I want to be around kids from all over teh country and also with kids that are closer to my geographic are. Im from Florida. I do however really liek teh residential system at Rice.</p>

20

<p>I strongly recommend attending where you will be most comfortable. Both are excellent schools and will prepare you well for your future interests.</p>

<p>I researched Rice and opted not to apply becuase it didn't seem like an ideal match for me. Emory has made significant strides to exand their national exposure and has recently been focusing on the west and northwestern US.
Emory has a different atmosphere than other fine schools like Vanderbilt and Rice.</p>